You Won't Feel A Thing
by JessicaStone134
Summary: When a woman is beaten and left for dead at the side of the road, the team at Sun Hill try hard to figure out her identity and her attackers, especially after the MO matches that of an attack a few weeks ago where the victim died. Will they manage it?
1. Another Polly Dwyer

**A new story from me. It's sort of a follow on from the most recent chapter of Forever is Over, so if you've read that, hopefully you'll recognise what's going on in this one. I hope you enjoy it!**

The woman watched as her boyfriend put the last of her cases into her small car. He shut the boot and walked up the path to the block of flats where they lived.

"All done?" she asked him with a smile.

"Yep. Why you need so many bags for one weekend I do not know!" he said rolling his eyes.

"Well, I'll need something for just mooching around, a few outfits for dinner, stuff for lounging round the pool and in the spa itself, stuff for outside, the list goes on!" she said with a sweet smile.

"Have fun getting it out the car on your own is all I can say!" he said with a cheeky grin, ducking away from her slap.

"I'm sure I can find a young, fit man to assist me. With a batting of my luscious lashes and a flick of my luminous hair, they'll all come running." she said, demonstrating this. Her boyfriend pulled a stony face.

"If anyone even tries that, I'll deck them!" he said all macho like.

"Oh isn't that sweet." she simpered sarcastically, kissing him on the cheek. "I've really got to go now if I want to make it in good time."

"Really? But the bedroom is too cold for me to go to bed yet, we could always warm it up before you go..." he said suggestively. She laughed at him but shook her head.

"As much as I'd like to, I have to go. Just put the heating on, it'll be warm in no time." she said with a smile.

"Obviously, but that's not as fun. Right, let's check you have everything. Phone?" he asked her. She pulled it out her pocket and showed it to him, pointing at the full bar of battery. "Purse?" She rummaged in her hand bag and pulled it out. "First aid kit?"

"First aid kit?" she echoed confusedly.

"Yeah, you never know when you might need it!" he said defensively. She laughed, placing a hand on the side of his face.

"I do love you, you know." she said quietly.

"I know. I love you too. Now, less of the slush, get going. Don't forget to put your lights on, it's getting dark pretty quick." he said.

"I will, I have driven at night before you know." she said smiling, but loving that he was so concerned for her.

"I know I know, I can't help but worry though." He walked her to the car, holding the door open for her as she slid into the driver's seat. He kissed her full on the lips, not wanting to let her go just yet. She'd only be going for the weekend, but it felt like an age until he would see her again. He finally released her, giving her a cheeky lopsided grin that she loved so much. She reached up to kiss him again, finally shutting the door and switching the car on, flicking on her lights and pushing in a CD. "Ring me when you get there?"

"It'll be late, I'll text you in the morning ok?" she promised. He nodded at her, raising a hand saying goodbye. He watched her car's lights bright in the darkness leave the street. Once she was gone, he sighed and walked back into the foyer of their flats. She'd only just gone but he missed her. Pull yourself together, he thought to himself.

* * *

She was driving along, going slightly over the speed limit, but it wasn't like there was anyone else around. It was just after ten o'clock at night and the night was clear and dry, which was pretty good for September. She hummed along to her CD, tapping her fingers against the steering wheel. The journey was going fine so far. As much as her boyfriend worried about her driving alone in the dark, she actually liked it. There were barely any other cars on the road to worry about, no queues, just the quiet of the road and the loudness of her CD. She smiled to herself, looking forward to the weekend ahead at the spa hotel with her mum and sister. A treat to themselves, as they hadn't been together for a while because of her job. It would be good.

* * *

An hour or so into her journey, she was speeding down a quiet country road with fields on either side of her. Just on the outskirts of London now, she was about half way through her journey. As she went round a curve in the road, her headlights caught an object on the side of the road. She slowed her car down so she could look at it properly. It appeared to be a baby's car seat. She frowned, wondering why it was there. Her instincts pricked up; she couldn't just leave it. What if there was a baby in there? It was cold, the baby wouldn't survive long. She pulled over next to the car seat. It had a blanket draped over the top of it. She turned off the engine, leaving the lights on. She opened her car door quickly, shutting it behind her before hurrying over to the car seat, crouching down in front of it. She lifted the blanket off over the seat, and stared in confusion at the plastic baby grinning back at her. She jumped to her feet, her instincts screaming at her to get back into her car and drive off, or to call for help. She had just about reached her car, one hand extended towards the car handle, when two pairs of hands grabbed her upper arms, pulling her back behind the hedges at the side of the road. She tried to scream, but knew there was no point. There was no-one else around.

* * *

She wanted to cry, but knew that if she did, her attackers would get some satisfaction from it, and there was no way she wanted to give them any kind of satisfaction. So she began to fight back. She kicked at one of the men who was trying to lower himself on top of her; she got him square in the groin, and she couldn't help but laugh nervously as he fell to the side of her. But then his accomplice punched her hard across her face; it felt as if her jaw had just been knocked out of its socket. The man she had kneed in the groin got to his feet, and the woman screamed as she saw his heavy duty boot coming towards her face. She tried to move her hands to cover her face, to try and offer some kind of protection for herself, but the other man had her hands pinned to her side. She couldn't even move her face to the side, she was stuck. As the boot connected with her face again, her eyes exploded with stars and colours, and she could feel the warm sticky blood trailing from a wound on her head down over her eyes. The other man began fumbling in her pockets, looking for the keys to her car. He found them, slipping them in his own pocket. While his accomplice proceeded to beat the woman within an inch of her life, he took all her possessions off her, including her phone and purse. Once they were done with her, she would have no way to call for help, no way to report them. They would be able to get away scot free, just like they had done before. Stupid bitches, they bring it on themselves by being too soft, by having to stop when they see a baby car seat at the edge of the road. If they weren't so damn soft, this wouldn't happen to them. In the attacker's eyes, they brought on everything they got.

* * *

It was finally over. They had left her alone. She was barely conscious when they had finally decided to stop beating her up. She knew they had her phone, her purse and her car keys, she knew there was no way to call for help. She felt as if her body was on fire and being compressed in a vice all at the same time. Her face, if she could call it that anymore, just felt like a swollen mass of skin. She could barely see; her eyes were so swollen they were just slits in her face. Her lip was bleeding profusely and plumped up to twice its size. She could feel that some of her teeth were loose as well. Her shaking hand felt the back of her head, immediately coming away bloodied. She was bleeding from so many places; she had so many different injuries. She remembered that at some point during the attack she had slipped into unconscious, a small mercy she mused. But now she was conscious, and all the pain, hurt, anger and an intense feeling of being scared hit her like a train. She would surely die if she didn't find a way to get some help soon. It was still dark, and very cold. She would die of hypothermia, or internal injuries, or blood loss, or shock. But the fact was that simply, she would die if she wasn't found soon. She knew that the only slim chance of survival she had was if she could get to the road. Then if someone did happen to drive past, they would see her. Even if they just called the emergency services and didn't stop, she would be grateful. All she had to do now was get the energy to get to the road. She took a deep breath and tried to move her legs into a position where she would be able to push herself up. It wasn't happening. Every time she tried to move, her head would assault her with pain, making her feel sick and dizzy. She finally swallowed it down, realising there was no way she'd be able to walk or even crawl to the roadside. She'd have to drag herself there. It was a slow and painful process. The roadside was only a few yards from where she was, but she had to stop every few seconds to get her breath back and stop herself from being sick. She finally managed it, there was the road. If she could just go a bit further, to ensure she would definitely be seen. One last pull across the twig littered grass and she was there. She rolled onto her back, regretting it when her dinner from the night decided to make its way back up. She turned to the side as she violently threw up, and promptly fell into unconsciousness, the last thought that crossed her mind being her boyfriend.


	2. Connections

**Next chapter done! Thanks to my reviewers Krissie, Georgie, Kara and DarknessDeadly. Thanks! Just a quick note, the storyline from the first chapter is a real method that gangs are using to lure women out of their cars so they can rob them and rape them. So if you do happen to see a baby car seat at the side of the road on a quiet road when it's dark, do not pull over to check if it's a real baby. Keep going and call the police. Ladies, stay safe when driving at night! Enjoy.**

Smithy strode into the canteen, looking for some of his officers. He spotted Beth and Nate holed up at the corner table, cups of tea and plates of food in front of them.

"Nice to see you two doing your job policing the streets of Canley to make it a safer place." he said sarcastically as he reached them.

"We wouldn't be able to police it if we were too hungry or thirsty though would we sarge." Nate shot back with a smile. Smithy couldn't help but laugh.

"Ok then, well I hope you're fed and watered, I've got a shout for you two. Woman was found badly beaten at the roadside by a passing motorist about an hour away from here. I want you two to get over to the hospital and find out what's going on." Smithy ordered.

"If she was found so far away from here then why is she at St Hugh's?" Beth asked.

"The hospital nearest to the place she was found didn't have an A&E. St Hugh's was the nearest one they could get her to." Smithy explained.

"Right. Does she have a name?" Beth asked as she dumped all her rubbish in the bin.

"Nope, well, she does, but it wasn't given. That's part of your job though correct? Off you go, have fun." Smithy said with a smile as he left the two officers in the canteen.

"Shotgun driving!" Nate yelled over his shoulder at Beth. She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"So immature." she muttered.

* * *

"PC Roberts, PC Green, Sun Hill. We're looking for a woman brought in not so long ago, badly beaten...?" Nate questioned the receptionist as soon as they got to the hospitals A&E department.

"Have you got a name for her?" he asked them.

"No, our sergeant just told us that she'd been beaten and we weren't given a name." Beth explained.

"Ah right, well we had one woman brought in about half an hour ago, no name as of yet. The doctors are still working on her now, she's in pretty bad shape if you ask me." he whispered knowingly.

"Right then, could you get us someone who can tell us something about her then?" Nate asked.

"Sure, give me a minute." he said with a smile, walking behind his desk and through the double doors leading to resus. "Sorry, Dr Trueman, there's police officers here about the woman."

"Thanks Noel, tell them I'll be there in a couple of minutes." the doctor said with a nod.

"Right ho." Noel said with a grin, walking back towards Beth and Nate. "Dr Trueman will be with you in a few minutes. Take a seat. Coffee and tea machine is just there." he said kindly.

"Thank you." Beth said with a smile. They sat down in front of the receptionists' desk, twiddling their thumbs until Dr Trueman came out.

* * *

"Hi, sorry, I'm Dr Trueman. If you want to come through to my office, I can talk you through everything." the doctor said, leading the two officers up the stairs and into his office. "Take a seat." Nate and Beth sat down, getting out their pads and pens.

"What's the verdict?" Nate asked immediately.

"The extent of her injuries are quite severe. Her whole face is completely swollen, her eyes are black and blue, she has a broken jaw, some loose teeth, multiple lacerations to her face and torso, bruising on her upper arms, some scratches on her back, and various lumps on her head. She was also extremely cold when she was brought in, with the beginnings of hypothermia starting to set in. We had to warm her up." the doctor began.

"Was there any sign of rape?" Beth asked.

"No. But she did sustain three broken ribs and some internal bleeding. She's being taken to surgery now to try and fix it. Our guess is the scratches on her back could be from where she was dragged across the ground, and the scratches on her stomach from where she possibly dragged herself to the roadside. We're not sure though, we're just guessing from her injuries." Adam said.

"Do we have a name for her yet?" Nate questioned. Adam shook his head.

"She had no ID on her, no purse, no phone, nothing. There wasn't a car there either, so we have no idea how she got there in the first place. That's your job I guess." Adam said.

"Yes it is. Can you tell us where she was found please?" Beth asked.

"Sure, the paramedics were called to Tredour Lane, it leads out of the city into the country. It's notorious for crashes, especially young people crashing. No doubt you've heard of it?" Adam asked. The two officers nodded.

"Is there anything else you can tell us about the woman?" Nate asked.

"No sorry. There is something I found quite worrying though." the doctor admitted.

"What would that be?" Beth queried.

"It's very similar to an attack which happened about a week ago. Another young woman was brought in, injuries very similar to our Jane Doe's. Except her attackers had gone a step further and raped her." Adam explained.

"What happened to her?" Nate asked, already knowing what the answer would be.

"She died from internal injuries. Her appendix ruptured before we could get her to surgery. But if I remember rightly, the paramedics who brought her in picked her up from Tredour Lane as well." Adam offered.

"Would it be possible to talk to them?" Beth asked.

"Sure. I'll get them for you. Hold on a minute." Adam said with a smile. Once he had gone, the two officers turned to face each other.

"We'll have to find out exactly who that woman was; see if we have a serial attacker here. If it was our station who investigated it, we need to find out who the investigating officers were; they'll be able to help us." Beth said.

* * *

Dr Trueman returned a few minutes later with two paramedics, both middle aged.

"This is Jeff and Dixie, they were the ones to find both women."

"Hi, PC Roberts, PC Green, Sun Hill. Could you tell us where you found the first victim? And what her name was?" Nate asked.

"We found both the women on that Tredour Lane. We get called there quite a lot for crashes, mainly youngsters, but we don't get many assaults down there. They were both found after the same curve in the road as well, it can be a bit of a blind spot when it's dark." Jeff said with a nod.

"Yeah, both attacked during the night, similar injuries, although the first time, Polly Dwyer I think her name was, she was raped whereas this second woman wasn't. There's not much more we can tell you." Dixie said apologetically.

"That's alright, you've told us a lot already. One last thing though, could you tell us who the other two officers were who took statements off you about Polly Dwyer?" Beth asked.

"Can't remember their names, but they were both blonde. One was pregnant. That's all I can tell you, sorry." Jeff said.

"Thanks, I know who they are." Nate said to them. To Beth he said, "It must have been Sal and Jess. Is Jess in today?"

"I think so, only in the morning though, she goes home about one-ish." Beth replied.

"Right, let's get back to the nick and find her then. Thanks a lot, could you give us a call when Jane Doe wakes up please?" Nate asked, handing the doctor his card.

"Sure. I hope you get them before they do this to any more women." Adam said seriously.

"We'll do everything we can." Beth promised.

* * *

"Jess!" Nate yelled down the corridor after spying Jess coming out of the Sergeants office. "Have you got a minute?"

"Sure, what's up?" she asked, lowering herself into a chair in front of the vending machines.

"It's about a case you and Sal were assigned to about a week ago, Polly Dwyer?" Beth asked, sitting next to Jess.

"Oh yeah, she died from a ruptured appendix. She was attacked and raped behind some hedges on a country road. One of the most vicious assaults I've ever seen." Jess said sadly, her hands folded on the peak of her bump.

"Right, well another woman was beaten up, similar circumstances, except she wasn't raped. She was found on the same road, the same stretch of the road and in the same sort of timeframe." Nate informed her. Jess frowned.

"Well we didn't find Polly's attackers. They left no trace of themselves at the crime scene. The only thing Eddie found was a tooth which was from Polly. There was nothing on her clothes either." Jess said.

"Can you remember exactly where it was Polly was found?" Beth asked.

"Yeah, one of the paramedics, Jeff I think his name was, gave us a map with the place marked on it. I should still have it somewhere in the case file. Give me a minute and I'll get it for you." she said, heaving herself to her feet and hurrying as fast as her distended abdomen would allow. She returned a few minutes later with the map in her hand. She laid it flat on the table in front of Nate and Beth. "She was found here, behind the hedgerow by a motorist who stopped because he saw her abandoned car."

"Hmm, they didn't mention anything about a car with our victim. The woman had dragged herself to the roadside, but there wasn't a car." Beth said with a frown.

"From what you've said, it sounds like the two attacks are connected. Does your victim have a name? She could be connected to Polly maybe?" Jess suggested.

"No, our woman didn't have any ID on her, or a phone or purse. She's a Jane Doe. But I agree what you said about them being connected. Maybe a gang is targeting young woman and stealing from them?" Nate wondered.

"Yeah, but if they wanted to steal from them surely they wouldn't beat them up as viciously or rape them?" Beth asked.

"It doesn't make sense. Maybe you should take it to Smithy or Callum, tell them about the apparent connections between the cases. I can go get all the stuff from the file me and Sal put together on Polly Dwyer if you want?" Jess offered.

"Yeah please, that'd be brilliant. Cheers Jess. I'll give Sal a ring later as well." Nate said.

"Don't disturb her Nate, she's having a rare weekend off, she doesn't need you ringing asking her about work!" Beth said with a laugh. Nate nodded begrudgingly.

"True. Ok, let's go find Smithy or Callum." Nate said, leading the way to the sergeant's office.


	3. Derelict Houses

**I'm on a roll! Maybe cause I actually have this one fully planned out! Thanks to Hollie, Krissie, Georgie and Kara for the loveerly reviews :D Enjoy!**

"So basically you think Polly Dwyer and Jane Doe are connected?" Smithy clarified.

"Well no the victims particularly, but the way they were attacked is exactly the same, as is where they were attacked and the time frame. It's not coincidental." Nate explained. Smithy leaned back in his chair nodding.

"Right, so how do you intend to find out the identity of Jane Doe?" Smithy asked. Beth and Nate looked at each other; this was where they were stuck. "You don't know right?"

"She had no form of ID on her, no phone or anything. We have nothing to tell us who she is." Beth said.

"Ask Eddie to get a DNA sample from her, then he can run it through the computer and see if that gives us her name." Smithy suggested.

"Ok, but that could take a few days for him to do; he's got a load of other stuff on at the minute as well." Nate said.

"Well tell him to make it a priority. Has he looked at the crime scene yet? And the vic's clothes?" Smithy questioned.

"Yes and yes. Like with Polly Dwyer, there's nothing. No indication of her attackers. We've hit a dead end again, just like Jess and Sally did." Nate said with a sigh.

"Have you spoken to Jess and Sally about it?" Smithy asked them.

"We spoke to Jess, she gave us the case file they built about Polly, but Sal's off work this weekend sarge, it's her first weekend off in ages, I don't wanna disturb her with questions about work." Nate explained.

"That may be PC Roberts, but a woman has already died, and another woman could end up that way as well if we don't find these attackers. Ring Sally please." Smithy ordered.

"Sarge." Nate said with a nod, exiting the office.

"Beth, let me know if you get anywhere with this." Smithy said with a short smile.

"Yes sarge." Beth said, leaving the office, going after Nate.

* * *

Nate was sat in the canteen, his phone on the table in front of him.

"Are you actually going to try and call her using your fake telepathic powers?" Beth said lightly as she took a seat next to him.

"Nah, course not. I'm gonna ring her now." Nate said, picking the phone up and keying in Sally's mobile number. He let it ring for over a minute until her answering machine kicked in. He left her a message, just asking her to call him ASAP. He hung up and looked at Beth. "What? I left her a message!"

"Never mind. Come on; let's go through the case file again, we might have missed something. And we better tell Eddie to get down to the hospital and swab our Jane Doe for DNA testing." Beth suggested.

"What if she's not in the system, then we're still nowhere." Nate said exasperatedly as they trooped up the stairs to Eddie's lab.

"Alright Mr Pessimist, what's wrong?" Beth asked.

"Nothing's wrong." Nate said adamantly.

"Really? That's why you've got a face like a smacked ass and you're really mopey?" Beth said with a grin.

"Shut up! I do not. Come on; let's just get on with the job shall we." Nate said very uncharacteristically.

"Did you and Sal have a fight? Is that why you're acting like this?" she asked.

"No, would you just drop it!" Nate snapped, pushing into Eddie's lab.

"Oi, less of the testosterone please! Man at work here." Eddie said with a tut.

"Sorry Eddie, Nate's PMS'ing apparently. We need you to do us a favour, and Smithy said to prioritise it. That Jane Doe at the hospital, could you swab her and run the DNA through the system? If we know her identity then we might get somewhere with it." Beth pleaded, batting her lashes. She knew Eddie had a soft spot for her, and she wasn't bothered about using that to her advantage.

Eddie blushed and smiled, "Well, seeing as it's you PC Green. I'll get on that right away. You coming with me?" he asked them.

"Nah, you're alright, we're going to look through the case files again. Thanks Eddie." Beth said happily, brushing her hand against his arm as she left his lab.

Eddie was temporarily speechless, before he managed to stutter, "S'alright Beth."

* * *

A few hours later, Sally still hadn't called back. He tried her a number of times with no luck. He ran into Jess coming from the canteen.

"Have you heard from Sally?" he asked in a rush.

"What? No I haven't, why, can't you get hold of her?" Jess asked, noting how worried Nate seemed to be.

"No, I don't know if she's just ignoring it or if there's a reason why she can't answer it." Nate said, not being able to conceal the panic in his voice.

"Calm down, let me try." Jess said in a comforting tone. She pulled her phone out, quickly finding Sally's number and dialling it. She waited for a few rings when the phone was picked up. "Hello? Sal? It's Jess." There was no reply on the other end. Jess looked at her mobile screen, checking she had signal. She did. "Sally?"

"Is she there?" Nate asked hurriedly.

"I don't think so. She picked up though; maybe she just lost her signal?" Jess suggested, not really believing it.

"No, something's wrong, I know it!" Nate said distractedly, running his fingers through his hair. "You say she, or someone picket up right?"

"Yeah, the phone's still on and working. GPS?" Jess wondered.

"That's what I was thinking. Who're you paired with?" Nate asked.

"Will, shall I go get him and Beth?" Jess asked. Nate nodded.

"I'm gonna try and track her phone on the computer, alright?" Nate said. Jess nodded, hurrying off to find Will and Beth.

* * *

"What's going on?" Will asked as they found Nate at one of the many computers in the station.

"Something's happened to Sally." Jess told him.

"What? How do you know?" Will asked in shock.

"We don't for sure, but Nate's got a bad feeling about it." Jess explained.

"Have you found her yet?" Beth asked, standing behind Nate at the computer.

"No. I've just triangulated the signal, it's just focusing now. Here we go." Nate muttered as a small red dot signalling Sally's mobile appeared on the map on the screen.

"Where is it?" Will asked, looking over Beth's shoulder.

"About 15 miles away. It's nowhere near where she's supposed to be." Nate whispered, his voice cracking.

"Its ok mate, come on, we'll go there, find Sally, and everything will be fine. Alright? Print out the location, let's go." Will said, clapping Nate on the shoulder.

"Shall we tell Smithy?" Beth wondered. Jess shook her head.

"Not until we know exactly what's going on." Jess said. Nate grabbed the print out of the map, scooping the keys to the car off the desk.

"Let's go." he said determinedly.

* * *

They found the address easy enough. It was from a house on a rundown estate in the middle of London. A derelict, crumbling house with an overgrown garden, smashed out windows, and a door hanging off the hinges. The four officers had a bad feeling about it.

"Proceed with caution springs to mind." Beth whispered as her and Jess got behind Nate and Will. The four of them flicked their asp's out, not wanting to take any chances. They slowly walked up to the front of the house, Nate entering first. He switched on his torch, sweeping the beam around the dirty hallway. Nothing. Next was the living room. The carpet had been rolled up in the centre of the room, serving as a bench to the youths who used the house for drug deals and gang meetings. The officers spread out; searching every nook and cranny for any trace that Sally was or had been here. Nate and Beth looked upstairs, leaving Jess and Will to check downstairs.

"Jess!" Will called from the living room. Jess called up the stairs to Nate and Beth as she hurried into the living room.

"Have you found something?" she asked, coming to Will's side. Will had something in his hand, which on closer inspection Jess realised was Sally's phone. "Oh no."

"I'll bag it up. We've got to tell the Inspector. This is not good." Will muttered to Jess as Nate entered the living room.

"What is it? What have you found?" he demanded. Will held up the phone. Nate snatched in from him, examining it this way and that. "It's hers. It's Sally's phone."

"Hang on, what's that?" Jess said to the others, pointing at something sticking out from underneath the roll of carpet. Beth bent down and pulled it out; it was a handbag. "That's hers as well."

Beth rummaged through it, pulling out her purse. She opened it; there was nothing left in it. It was completely devoid of any cash and credit cards. Nate grabbed it, flicking through all the receipts, desperately searching for something.

"Crap. Whoever has taken this has taken the bit of paper which she wrote her PIN's on." Nate hissed, lobbing the purse at the floor, a dull thump emitting from the carpet.

"Beth, bag all that up. Jess, call Smithy, and let him know what's going on. We need to get back to the nick and fill the Inspector in." Will said, taking charge. Jess and Beth nodded, setting about their tasks. Will walked slowly over to Nate who was sat stock still on the carpet. "Nate?"

"Where is she Will? What's happened to her?" Nate cried, swiping angrily at the tears making their way down his face.

"Whatever's happened, she's going to be ok. She's a fighter Nate, remember that. Come on, we better get back." Will said gently, helping Nate to his feet.

* * *

"Ma'am, we need to talk to you." Beth said, bursting into the Inspector's office with Nate, Jess and Will in tail.

"Yes PC Green, come in and make yourself comfy." Gina said sarcastically. "What can I do for you?"

"Its Sally ma'am, something's happened." Nate spat out quickly.

Gina frowned, sitting straighter in her chair, "What do you mean by that? I thought she was having the weekend off?"

"She was, she was meant to be having a spa weekend with her mum and sister. She wasn't answering her phone, and when someone picked up, it wasn't her. No-one answered. We tracked her phone to a rundown estate about 15 miles away. Her phone and bag were in a deserted house. All her cash, credit cards and the paper with her PIN's on were all gone." Nate explained quickly, not wanting to waste anymore time talking.

"Go up to Eddie, he needs to examine what you've found, see if he can lift any prints. You say she was supposed to be on a spa weekend? Ring the hotel where she was supposed to be, see if she checked in. Then ring her mum and sister, see if she's with her or if they've heard from her. I'll go and inform Smithy and Callum what's happening. Don't worry Nate, we'll find her." Gina said in what she hoped was a reassuring voice. As the four worried officers left her office, she got to her feet. She didn't have a good feeling about this.


	4. Realisation Hits

**A longer chapter to get your teeth stuck into. Thanks as always to my reviewers Kara, Hollie and Georgie. Enjoy!**

Nate was sat on his own in the dark changing rooms. As soon as they had left the Inspector's office, he had told the others he just needed to get some air. He wasn't normally one to cry, but he couldn't help it. Sally should have been enjoying herself with her sister Gemma and her mother, but instead she was missing and he had no idea what had happened to her. He wiped his face with his hand and sorted himself out. He had to ring Gemma. It would be hard, but she needed to know.

* * *

"Gem? It's Nate." he said quietly.

"Hiya. Has Sally even left yet? She was supposed to be here last night. I bet she couldn't bear leaving you could she. Tell her to get her ass in gear otherwise me and mum are going to start the treatments without her!" Gemma said with a laugh. She sounded a lot like Sally, and the pang in Nate's heart increased.

"Gemma, Sally isn't with me. I was hoping she was with you." he said, his heart dropping.

"No, no she's not. Wait, if she's not with you or me, where is she? Nate, what's going on?" Gemma asked, panic lacing her voice.

"She left ours yesterday, in the evening. She said she'd text me or ring me this morning to tell me she got there, but she didn't. I thought she'd just forgot, you know what she's like, but she wasn't answering her phone, it kept going to voicemail. And then Jess tried calling her, and someone picked up but it wasn't her. We tracked her mobile signal to an estate some miles away from here. We found her phone, her empty purse and her bag. We don't know where she is Gemma." Nate said, his voice cracking at the end.

"She's missing? Is that what you're saying?" Gemma confirmed quietly.

"At the minute it's looking that way. We're gonna find her, I promise." Nate said determinedly.

"Alive or dead though?" Gemma cried. Nate could hear her sobbing.

"Where's your mum?" he asked.

"She's having a bath before we have our treatments. What am I going to tell her?" Gemma sobbed.

"You tell her what's happened and that we're doing everything we can. We'll find her." Nate said with conviction.

"You better. I'll never forgive you if you don't." Gemma said harshly. Nate was taken aback; normally Gemma and him got on like a house on fire. Obviously the fear of losing her younger sister had got to her and she was looking for someone to blame, Nate being the easiest target.

* * *

"So she's missing? Is that what we're saying?" Stevie asked the Inspector as she leaned back in a chair in the CID briefing room.

"It's looking more and more that way. She's vanished seemingly without a trace." Gina explained.

"Ok, Mickey, you're with me. We'll check her credit card companies; see if any withdrawals have been made over the last twelve hours. If they have, we can find out where, and try and get footage from ATM's. We'll freeze her accounts as well to stop any more money going. Jess, Will, your job is to track down her car. Whoever took her purse, bag and phone are likely to have taken her car as well. Maybe this is a carjacking gone wrong. Find the car, track it on CCTV, you know the drill. Beth, go and find Nate, then take the things of Sally's that you found at the house to Eddie. I want them fingerprinted, the works. Tell him to make this his priority." Stevie ordered. The various officers went off to their assigned tasks, leaving the Inspector and the two sergeants in the room with Stevie.

"What do you want us to do?" Callum asked.

"I think you should let your team know what's happening. Tell them to keep a look out for her car, you know the drill. Keep their spirits up, it's not easy when one of our own goes missing, but we want a result on this, and to do that everyone needs to be focused." Stevie said with a grim smile. Callum nodded and left the room, followed by Gina.

"You ok?" Smithy asked softly, coming to stand in front of the petite blonde.

"I like Sally. I just hope that wherever she is, she's safe." Stevie said quietly. Smithy kissed her gently, pulling her close against him.

"Sally's a fighter; she won't take no crap from anyone, rest assured. Let me know if you need anything." Smithy said kindly, briefly kissing her again as he left the room.

* * *

"Moss, I got a hit." Mickey called across the room from his desk. Stevie got to her feet, hurrying across the small space.

"What? Has her card been used?" Stevie asked.

"Yep, look, the credit card company said that her cards were all used at this ATM one after the other, and they've taken out the maximum they can. They gave me the ATM location, it's here." Mickey said, pointing to a print out of a map with a red dot where the ATM was located. Stevie traced her finger along the map to where Sally's discarded items were found.

"Ok, what time were they used?" Stevie asked, perching on the desk.

"Early hours of the morning. The ATM operators are sending me the CCTV in the timeframe from the ATM itself. Hopefully we'll get a hit." Mickey said.

"Right, cancel her cards. I'm going to hazard a guess that they dumped her stuff in the house before carrying on to here." Stevie grabbed a pen off Mickey's desk, marking the possible routes the attackers could have taken to get from the house to the ATM. "I'll give this to Jess and Will, see if there's any CCTV of them or Sal's car on it that we can use. Good work Mickey."

* * *

"Leon, we got a shout. Come on." Callum shouted down the hall to where Leon was stood at the vending machine. He sighed, dumping his undrunk coffee into the bin. He jogged to his sergeant, following him out to the car.

"What's the shout?" Leon asked, buckling himself in as Callum tore away from the station.

"Car on fire on the Laksmere estate. An elderly resident called it in. Fire service has been called and is en route." Callum rattled off as he sped to the estate. It didn't take long to find. The smoke billowed out of the car, thick, dark smoke. The car had been parked haphazardly in the centre of the green, and by the looks of it had been on fire for quite a while. "Leon, ask all these people if anyone saw anything."

"I doubt they did." Leon said with a sigh.

"I know, but still ask. I'll see if I can pull the registration number, as long as it hasn't melted away that is." Callum said, exiting the car and jogging over to the burning car. "Can you all move back for your own safety." he shouted at the crowd who took no notice of him. He shook his head and inched towards the car. He could just about make out the registration plate. He quickly jotted it down, moving back away from the car. "Anything?"

"No, surprise surprise. Do you want me to go ask the woman who called it in? Maybe she saw something." Leon suggested.

"Sure. Get the address of the woman of Rog, and then go find out. Come back here once you're done." Callum ordered.

"Sarge." Leon confirmed, walking across the green to one of the blocks of flats that surrounded it.

"Sierra Oscar 30 to 275." Callum said into his radio.

"Go ahead sarge." Roger confirmed.

"Can you do a registration number check for me Rog. The number is Lima, Victor, 5, 1 – Charlie, Juliet, 0. Did you get that, over?" Callum checked.

"Yes sarge. Give me a minute, it's just searching. Ok sarge, got a hit..." Roger cut out.

"Rog? Who's it belong to over?" Callum asked, listening intently for Roger's reply.

"It belongs to Sally Armstrong sarge, over." Roger said clearly. Callum shut his eyes, a sigh escaping his lips.

"Right. Let DS Moss and the Inspector know Rog. Thanks, over." Callum said, calling off. That's all they needed.

* * *

"Jess, Will, Sally's car has been found on fire at the Laksmere estate. There's a few cameras dotted around the estate, check if any of them work, see if you can find the car. If you can, get the number of people in the car, any kind of characteristics, you know. Then work backwards, try and get some sort of trail of their movements." Smithy said quickly.

"Was there anyone in the car?" Will asked. Smithy shook his head.

"Where the hell is she?" Jess said in despair.

"Jess, maybe you should go home. You're shift is finished." Smithy suggested gently.

Jess widened her eyes, glaring at him, "You really think I'm going to leave halfway through this investigation when my best friend is missing? I don't think so. I'm fine."

Smithy exchanged a look with Will, as if to say "Keep an eye on her." Will nodded discreetly. "Fine, but you go home if you get tired or anything..."

"Sarge stop fussing. I am fine. Please, let me do my job." Jess begged. Smithy nodded and backed out the room.

* * *

Jess and Will burst through the doors to CID twenty minutes later, some print outs in their hands.

"What you got?" Mickey asked immediately. Jess laid the CCTV grabs on his desk.

"Only one of the cameras on the estate worked, but we managed to get some decent CCTV grabs. Here's Sally's car entering the estate, and you can clearly see two people in the car." Will said.

"Either of them Sally?" Stevie asked, joining them.

"No, both of them are IC1 males as far as we can tell. We tried working backwards through the CCTV and have identified a partial trail." Jess explained, placing the map that Stevie gave them earlier with the ATM location on it. "This is what we've got. They have obviously been driving round a bit before going onto the estate; this is the best we got." Jess said, placing more CCTV grabs on the desk.

"Right, all this needs to go on the board and I can add some more bits onto the timeline. Good work you two." Stevie said in praise, scooping up all the pieces of paper and starting to pin them to the incident board, adding in some of the times onto the practically empty timeline.

"Sarge." Mickey called over his shoulder.

"CCTV from the ATM's?" Stevie guessed.

"Yep, let's have a look then." Mickey said, opening the video. It wasn't very good quality, but it was enough to see that the two men, IC1, appeared to be the same as the guys in Sally's car, dressed in the same gear.

"No clear picture of their faces though. Damn hoodies!" Stevie said in exasperation.

"These can't be first timers. They're smart. They know that we'll be checking all of this, and they're making sure we can't identify them." Mickey said reasonably.

"Lucky us getting clever criminals for once." Stevie said sarcastically.

"What I meant was we know we're not looking for first timers. These people are going to be smart, but it's also more likely that they have a more extensive record." Mickey explained.

"I know what you meant. Sorry for snapping." Stevie apologised.

"It's alright, it's a tough case." Mickey said in understanding.

* * *

Nate and Beth were grabbing a quick bite to eat while waiting for Eddie's initial assessment of the Sally's items when Nate's phone rang.

"PC Roberts." he said, quickly swallowing the food in his mouth.

"Hi, this is Dr Trueman; we met earlier about your Jane Doe?" Adam said.

"Oh hi, how can I help?" Nate asked.

"We were just going through her clothes when we found an address on a piece of paper. I don't know if you want to come down here and get it with the rest of her clothes. We've bagged them up for you." the doctor said.

"Uh, yeah that'd be brilliant. We'll be down soon. Thanks." Nate said hanging up.

"Who was that?" Beth asked.

"The Dr from the hospital about our Jane Doe. He found an address in her pocket, thought we could check it out. We can get her clothes as well while we're at it." Nate said.

"Yeah, it will keep us focused." Beth said with a nod.

"But I want to be looking for Sally!" Nate cried in exasperation.

"Nate, there's nothing for us to do at the minute. We have to wait on Eddie. We need to help Jane Doe as well as Sally. Come on, I'll drive." Beth said gently.

* * *

After picking up Jane Doe's ripped up clothes, well, they were more shreds of fabric rather than clothes, they returned to the station with the clothes and address. Neither Beth nor Nate recognised the address. They dropped the clothes in on Eddie before heading to a computer to find this address and work out what it meant in relation to Jane Doe.

* * *

Eddie was cranky. Not only had he been given so many things to fingerprint and do DNA swabs off, he had received no thanks for his hard work. It wasn't easy getting finger prints off of things! He huffed as Nate and Beth dumped another load of "priority" stuff on him to analyse. They would have to wait. He had finally managed to get a partial fingerprint off of Sally's phone, and running it through the system had come up with a number of names. He had called Stevie in and given her the list of three men and two women to go through and eradicate those names which weren't correct. While she was doing that in the corner of his lab, he managed to get a full fingerprint off of Sally's bag. Running that through his computer had come up with the name Jack Mackenzie. Eddie gave the name to Stevie, who cross referenced it with the names from the phone, coming up with a known associate named Steve Smith, previous for ABH. Mackenzie had previous for battery and intimidation. This wasn't looking good for Sally, but at least they know had the two names of the men who might have taken her. As Stevie was about to thank Eddie and tell Mickey their findings, Eddie stopped her.

"There's a separate print on her purse, different from the other two." Eddie muttered. He put it through the system, coming up with Liam O'Brien, a known associate of Mackenzie and Smith.

"But there were only two people at the ATM and in her car." Stevie said in confusion.

"Well, you've got your names and your prints now. I can start on everything else that's been marked as priority." Eddie mumbled.

"Thanks Eddie, you've been brilliant." Stevie said, flashing him a quick smile. She felt like they were getting somewhere now. Eddie blushed.

"Anything for you DS Moss." he said.

* * *

Stevie shared the findings of the suspects for Sally's disappearance with the Inspector and the two sergeants.

"I think we should contact the media, get them to circulate these men's photos, provide a direct number to the incident room. We need to make sure no-one else falls victim to these men, and we need to find Sally." Stevie suggested.

"Stevie's right, the media could be a big help in this. And if we can circulate both Sally's picture and the suspect's, we might get a hit." Smithy agreed.

"We should circulate this to the other boroughs as well; tell them to be on the lookout." Callum added.

"I agree with all of you. Ring the news stations, ring the other boroughs, and tell them these men are wanted in the disappearance of PC Sally Armstrong." Gina said with a nod.

* * *

"Nate? Beth? I've had a hit on your Jane Doe's leather belt." Eddie called to the two officers.

"Eddie? What is it?" Beth asked hurriedly, noting the sombre look on the normally cheerful CSE's face.

"The fingerprint belongs to Liam O'Brien." Eddie said.

"Right, thanks Eddie, we'll get on it." Nate said, turning to exit the lab.

"Wait. Liam O'Brien's fingerprints were also found on Sally's purse." Eddie said quietly.

"What? No that can't be right, cause then that would mean..."Nate began, his mind working overtime. He fumbled in his pocket for the address found in the Jane Doe's jean pocket. He rushed to one of Eddie's computers, typing the address in, misspelling it a number of times before finally getting it right. "No no no no..."

"Nate what is it?" Beth asked.

"The Black Sparrow Hotel and Spa." Nate whispered, printing it off.

"What? That's where Jane Doe was heading?" Beth asked, not quite seeing where Nate was going with all this.

"That's where Sally was going." Nate said quietly, his voice shaky.

"But that would mean..."Beth began.

"That our Jane Doe is Sally." Nate whispered. Sally, his Sally Armstrong. He hadn't given a second though for the Jane Doe in the hospital, hadn't recognised her for who she really was. The guilt nearly suffocated him as he sprinted out of the station and sped off to the hospital.


	5. Black and Blue

**So, as a number of you guessed, the Jane Doe from the first chapter was indeed Sally! Massive thanks as normal goes to Hollie, Georgie, Kara and Aileen. On to the main event!**

Sergeants Smith and Stone had called their team in for a briefing. They sat before them expectantly; most of them gathering that it had something to do with Sally. Once everyone was sat down, Smithy cleared his throat.

"Thanks for sparing us a few minutes. As you all know, PC Armstrong disappeared on Friday evening after leaving her flat to go to a hotel spa for the weekend. As you also know, we have the identities of the men wanted in connection of her disappearance. They are now also wanted for the attempted murder of a policeman, robbery, theft, fraud and the taking of a motor vehicle." Smithy said.

"What do you mean by attempted murder?" Jess asked.

"Beth and Nate were working on the brutal attack of a Jane Doe, the MO of the attack being similar to that of Polly Dwyer. After Eddie ran fingerprints and did some DNA work on the clothes of Jane Doe, it was discovered that their Jane Doe was Sally." Callum informed them.

"So Sally's been in hospital all this time? How is she? What's the prognosis?" Will asked.

"It's not good. As with Ms Dwyer, Sally was beaten so badly that not even Nate recognised her when they first went to get a statement off of her doctor. Inspector Gold has just called from the hospital. The doctors have told her that they managed to stop the internal bleeding, but she has got a broken jaw, some broken ribs, cuts and bruises all over her body and her face is severely swollen. When she was first taken to hospital, she also had the onset of hypothermia, which they managed to stop. She's been put into a coma to try and let her body heal." Smithy explained.

"Will she come round?" Jess asked, and Callum ached to go and comfort her when he heard the shakiness in her voice.

"The doctors are hopeful that she will, but they want her body to rest as much as possible first. They did say that she's very ill though. Now, I want to double our focus on finding the three men responsible for the murder of Polly Dwyer and the attempted murder of Sally. We'll also be having a collection for Sally, if you'd like to give some money, there's a pot in our office you can put money in. Ok everyone, off you go." Callum said loudly, dismissing the troops. He made his way through the retreating officers to where Jess and Will were still sat, Beth just behind them.

"We want to go round the last known addresses of the men sarge, see if they're there." Will said to Callum as he took a seat next to Jess. Callum shook his head.

"No, it's too dangerous for just the three of you to go on your own. We haven't got enough manpower to do that yet. I need you here in the station building the case against them. Beth, Will, go upstairs and find Stevie; you'll be working with her ok?" Callum said, dismissing them.

"Yes sarge." they nodded, leaving the room so it was empty besides Jess and Callum. She started to get up but Callum stopped her.

"Not you." he said softly. He gently placed a broad hand over her stomach, smiling slightly as their baby kicked his hand.

"What are we going to do?" she asked in despair.

"Hey listen, Sally will be ok. The doctors are confident that they'll be able to bring her out of the coma in a few days." Callum said quietly.

"Yeah I know that, but even if she does come out the coma she still might have permanent damage. Can we go and see her?" Jess asked, looking Callum in the eye.

"No, not yet. Nate and the Inspector are already there, and Sally's parents and sister are on their way. We've got a job to do." Callum said, rising to his feet and pulling Jess up with him.

"Oh? What's that?" she asked.

"We're going to tell Polly Dwyer's parents that we know who killed her." Callum said in a determined voice, following Jess out of the briefing room.

* * *

Nate was sat silently in Sally's room. The only sounds were the occasional beep and whir of the machines that were keeping Sally alive but comatose. He had never seen her so weak before. Hell, he didn't even recognise her. That was still clawing him up. All this time she'd been right here in the hospital and he didn't even realise it. He carefully took her hand in his, careful not to disturb any of the wires in her hands.

"I'm sorry Sally, I'm so sorry. Please, just get better soon, I hate being in the flat on my own now. It's soppy, I know, but I do mean it. And I know I don't say this kind of stuff to you much when you're awake, but its cause whenever I try to, I can never find the words I want to say. But know that I love you and want to be with you forever, ok?" he whispered into her ear quietly. He laid his head next to hers and shut his eyes.

* * *

"Stevie? The Super asks if you're ready to go?" Smithy asked as he came to Stevie's desk. She was putting the finishing touches on her speech to the media; wanting to make sure she had everything in and didn't miss anything important out. "Hey? Have you had a break yet? You look shattered."

"Oh gee thanks, all the girls love hearing that." she said sarcastically, not looking up from her notes. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Come on Moss, don't be like that. Let me buy you some food after the media speech is all done. One time only offer." Smithy said temptingly.

"Ok, you won me over. Right, this is all done. Can you quickly read it for me, just check everything's in there?" Stevie asked, handing the sheaf's of paper to Smithy. He scanned it quickly, nodding and handing the paper back.

"It's good. Come on, before the Super gets antsy." Smithy said gently, leading Stevie out to where the Super was waiting in front of the crowds of the media.

* * *

Callum knocked on the door of the Dwyer's house. The door was opened by Mr Dwyer. Jess noted that he looked paler, sick even. She smiled at him.

"Hi Mr Dwyer. I'm PC Stone, this is Sergeant Stone. We met last week?" Jess said quietly.

"Yes yes, I remember who you are. Have you found Pol's killer?" he asked impatiently.

"Could we come in please sir?" Callum asked. Mr Dwyer paused, but nodded, standing aside to let them through, pointing them into the kitchen. He offered them a seat at the dining table, bringing over some cups of tea.

"Is your wife here?" Jess asked.

"She's uh, well, she's upstairs. She's not feeling too good." Mr Dwyer said hesitantly.

"Right, well we have some news for you." Callum began. "We have identified the men we think killed your daughter."

"What do you mean by you think?" he asked sternly.

"Friday night, another woman was attacked in the exact same place as Polly, same sort of injuries, too many things the same to be just coincidental. The woman who was attacked was then found to be one of your officers." Callum explained.

"Remember the blonde police officer who was with me when we told you about Polly? It was her who was attacked. She was on her way to a spa weekend. She's currently in hospital in a coma. We found some prints on her personal affects which had been stolen, and we've come up with three names. We're building a case against them, and our crime scene examiner is going to try and link the men to Polly through any DNA that he may have overlooked the first time." Jess added.

"So these men, they've done it again, to one of your own?" Mr Dwyer checked. The two officers nodded. "Well maybe if you had put in more effort with my daughter, you would have found the men before now and your officer wouldn't have been hurt."

"Mr Dwyer, we did put in all the effort we could, but there wasn't any trace of these men on any of your daughter's effects." Callum said in a harsh tone, knowing that Sally and Jess had put all their effort into Polly Dwyer's case.

"Fine. I'd like you to leave now. Don't come back until you have those bastards in custody." he said sharply. Jess and Callum exchanged looks before leaving the house.

* * *

Nate sat with Sally constantly over the next twenty four hours, talking to her, holding her hand, playing her favourite songs, anything to try and get some kind of response out of her. The guilt he felt before for not recognising her had grown and grown. He felt guilty for not dedicating enough time to the Jane Doe case, maybe if he had, he would have realised it was Sally sooner. The guilt was eating him up; the only way to make it subside would be for Sally to wake up and tell him that it'll be alright. But so far that hadn't happened.

"Nate? Come on, you go home and get showered. We'll sit with her." Thomas, Sally's dad, said quietly from the door.

"What if she wakes up when I'm gone?" he said sadly.

"Well, let us come in a sit with you and Sally then." he reasoned. Nate nodded, and soon Sally's bed was crowded, with Thomas and Valerie sat on one side, hands held tightly together, and Gemma sitting on the end of the bed, her hands resting lightly on Sally's blanket covered feet. They had been sat like that for a while, occasionally talking when there was a gentle tap at the door. Nate looked up to see Jess and Callum stood outside. He got up slowly, opening the door and stepping outside. Jess and Callum were dressed in their civvies; it must be their day off. Jess pulled him tight to her, well, as tight as she could with the baby bump between them.

"How you doing?" Callum asked, taking a seat outside Sally's room.

"Ok I guess." he said quietly.

"Don't lie Nate. Have you even been home yet?" Jess asked gently. Nate shook his head.

"Go home Nate, get some sleep, get a shower and a shave. You'll scare Sally when she wakes up and sees you looking like that!" Jess said with a small smile.

"What if she..." Nate began, but Callum stopped him.

"We will ring you the moment it looks as if she's going to wake up. You may as well get some proper food, bring Sally some clothes and bits from home." Callum said.

Nate cast a longing look back to Sally's room but nodded, "Ok, but you ring me as soon as it even looks like she's going to wake up, right?"

"Scouts honour." Jess said, hugging Nate again as he left the ICU ward.

* * *

Callum took Jess' hand and they entered Sally's room. Callum introduced them to Sally's family while Jess took up Nate's chair, taking Sally's limp hand in hers. To say she was shocked was an understatement. The woman lying in the bed in front of her wasn't Sally. It was a shadow of her best friend. Her face was swollen beyond belief and most of the skin Jess could see was mottled black and blue with bruises.

"Oh Sally. What happened? You gotta come round soon, Nate is driving us insane! He won't wash, he won't eat, and he won't even make jokes or sarcastic comments anymore!" Jess said lightly. "It's like Nate isn't there anymore! You're the only one who can really help him. He feels so guilty Sal, it's eating him up! He thinks that if he had put more effort into the Jane Doe case, he would have realised it was you. But there would have been no way to tell. So you see, you have to wake up, right?" There was nothing. No confirmation from Sally that she'd heard what had just been said to her. Callum could see Jess getting upset, even though she was trying really hard not to. He walked round to where she was sat, crouching next to her.

"Come on darlin', let's go. Give Sally's family some time with her alone, yeah?" Callum whispered in her ear. Jess looked at him, then at Sally's family before nodding.

"Ok." she got up from the chair, gently kissing Sally on the forehead, warning her, "Next time I come in, you better be awake."


	6. Puzzle Pieces

**Sorry this one has taken a little longer coming. I'm working a lot lately, and because I work late shifts, I come in and just go to bed. But I found the time to write this, so I hope you enjoy it. It's slightly shorter than normal, but it's building up to the final few chapters. Huge thanks to Hollie, Aileen, Krissie, Georgie, Em, Kara and littlebit100.**

Another day had passed. Sally was still unconscious. Beth and Will had gone to see her in the morning, to take her some more flowers. They couldn't really wrap their heads around the fact that the victim lying in the bed in front of them was their friend Sally, their full of life friend, not this helpless woman. Beth took a seat next to the bed, gently holding Sally's hand. They just sat there in silence, willing Sally to recover, because if she didn't, her family, Nate, her friends, everyone who knew her would suffer.

"Sal?" Beth whispered, feeling self conscious. She tucked a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear before continuing, "Sal, I know you must have heard this from everyone who's been to see you, but we really need you to wake up. You must be bored just lying there, so wake up, get better, and you can get back to running round at work collaring criminals. Come on Sal, we need you, Nate needs you especially."

"Beth, we better go before we're late for work." Will said quietly across the bed. Beth nodded, turning to look at Sally again.

"Ok, listen, we'll be back soon ok, with Jess and Nate as well. Please wake up Sal. Please." Beth pleaded, before carefully placing Sally's hand back on the bed and following Will out of the room. She cast one last look at Sally's still figure before leaving.

* * *

Later on that night, the team had been briefed on the state of Sally's condition, with people now becoming even more determined to find the bastards who had done this to their friend and colleague. They knew that the longer it took them to find them, the more women were potentially at risk. Everyone had been assigned their tasks, and as the troops made their way out of the briefing room, the two sergeants and the Inspector sat quietly.

"Is her diagnosis getting any better?" the Inspector asked.

"It's hard to say. She needs to wake up before they can determine the full extent of her injuries." Smithy informed her. He had spoken to her doctor just before the briefing, wanting to be able to tell his officers exactly what was going on.

"Do they know if she's even going to wake up?" Callum asked, voicing what they were all thinking.

"They don't know. They took her for brain scans today, and the doctor did say that her brain activity was good, which is a positive sign." Smithy said.

"Right. Well, let's concentrate on catching these men so we can give her some good news when she wakes up." Gina said positively, walking out of the briefing room.

* * *

Roger was sat taking calls for the evening with Tony. Tony had just returned with a coffee for them both and a cake for himself. As Roger sipped his coffee, a call came in. He placed the coffee on the desk, accepting the call.

"This may be a stupid thing to be ringing the police about, but I saw that thing on the news last night, about the officer attacked on the country road at night?" a woman's shaking voice came over the radio, "And I've just drive down a road, and there was a baby car seat at the side of the road. I...I didn't know whether to stop or not, it's cold, and if there is a baby in their...then I don't know, but I thought I would call you so you could go and see."

"What's your name love?" Roger asked, signalling Tony over.

"Ruth Cortez. Should I have stopped?" Ruth asked anxiously.

"No, you did the absolutely right thing. Can you tell me which road you saw it on Ruth?" Roger asked her, and to Tony he said, "Go and get the Inspector now."

"Erm, it was Tredour Lane. That was where those two women were attacked wasn't it! Oh my god, those men are going to be there right now! What should I do"? Ruth begged, her voice getting higher as she began to panic more.

"Listen to me carefully. Don't panic, you're safe ok. You did the right thing ringing us. I want you to turn your car round and drive to Sun Hill police station, in Canley. Did you get that?" Roger asked her slowly.

"Yeah, Sun Hill. Right. I'll be there as soon as I can. Thank you." she said gratefully.

"No problem. Be safe getting here. When you get here, ask for PC Valentine, ok?" Roger confirmed.

"Yep, PC Valentine. Thank you so much." Ruth muttered.

"You're welcome." Roger said, hanging up.

* * *

"Roger, what's happening?" Gina asked, rushing into the briefing room.

"Ruth Cortez rang in, saying about a baby car seat at the edge of the road. She didn't know whether to stop of not so rang it in. She was on Tredour Lane, the same road where Polly and Sally were attacked. I've told her to get down here and I can take a statement off her." Roger relayed to the Inspector.

"Good work Roger. Right, print me off those details, and wait for Ms Cortez. As soon as she arrives, I want you to let me or one of the sergeants know, right?" Gina ordered.

"Yes ma'am." Roger confirmed, handing her a sheet of the call and then hurrying out of the room.

"Tony, can you gather everyone together for an emergency briefing please." Gina asked Tony.

"Yes ma'am." Tony turned, leaving the room. Gina scanned down the record of the call, walking straight to the sergeants' office. Luckily, both men were in there.

"Briefing, now." she said shortly. The men exchanged glances but followed her to the briefing room none the less. She stood at the front of the room, the two sergeants perching on a desk just behind her. Tony had managed to round up most of the relief, and they all sat down quickly and quietly. "Thanks for coming at such short notice everyone. We've had a major development in the case. Roger has just taken a call from a woman travelling down Tredour Lane. She called in to say there was a baby car seat at the side of the road, and she didn't know whether to stop or not."

"A baby car seat?" Jess asked.

"Yes PC Stone." Gina confirmed.

"That's strange, because when me and Sal went to the hospital the first time about Polly Dwyer, the doctor said she was mumbling something about a baby car seat." Jess said. "Maybe Polly saw the car seat at the side of the road and stopped to check on it? And then the gang could have jumped her?"

Gina processed the idea then nodded, "You could be right. But if Sally knew about the car seat, then why did she stop as well when she saw it?"

"When we were first told, our first thought was that Polly was talking about a child of her own, but we found that she didn't have children, and the doctor put it down to the drugs they were giving her." Jess explained.

"Right, so a woman driving alone at night see's a baby car seat at the side of the road. It's cold; they know the baby would be freezing and sick. They stop the car to check on the baby, and then they're ambushed." Callum said, processing out loud.

"Ok, so we have a possible method. Right, I'm going to split you into two teams, each team will be assigned a sergeant. PC Fletcher, PC Taylor, PC Ryder with Sergeant Stone; PC Roberts, PC Gayle and PC Brown with Sergeant Smith. Each team to a squad car. Sergeant Stone, I want you to arrive at the location coming from the north, Smithy, your team are to arrive from the south. I will go in a car with DS Moss and DC Webb. PC Green, I want you here to get a statement of Ruth Cortez who rang it in with Roger. I've told him to let myself, Callum or Smithy know as soon as she gets here ok?" Gina commanded. There was movement as the officers got into their groups and Beth left the room. Jess made her way up the Inspector, an expectant look on her face.

"What about me ma'am, who's team am I on?" Jess asked.

"You're not going PC Stone." Gina said quickly.

"What? Why not?" Jess demanded.

"You know perfectly why. It's too dangerous for you and your baby. You would be a liability. If you go, then Callum won't be concentrating on apprehending these men because he'll be too busy worrying about you, and you know it." Gina said, a tad sharper than she meant. Jess' face hardened and she took a step back.

"So what am I going to do then?" she asked.

"I want you to go the hospital and let Sally's family know what's going on. Change into your civilian clothes. Myself, Callum or Smithy will ring you with an update. Understand?" Gina asked.

"Yes ma'am." Jess said, glancing at Callum before leaving the room.

* * *

The three squad cars arrived at their destination silently without their blues and twos on. They pulled up a distance away from where the baby seat had been reported; they didn't want to alert the men they were there. Callum turned around to face Mel in their squad car.

"You know what you're doing?" he asked her. She nodded once. "As soon as they make a move for you, get out of the way and we'll be there straight away. Understood?"

"Sarge." Mel said quietly. She took a deep breath and slowly got out the car. She was nervous; essentially she was acting as bait for these men. But she knew her nerves were nothing compared to the fear both Sally and Polly must have felt when they realised what was happening to them. At least she knew help was literally just around the corner; she knew nothing bad would happen to her at the hands of those men. She made her way carefully over to the grassy side of the road, spying the baby car seat. She crept over to it, looking around before squatting in front of the car seat. There was a blanket over the top of it, obscuring the baby from view. She cautiously lifted the blanket, seeing an ugly, plastic baby grinning back at her. She heard a rustle in the hedges; three men were running at her, their arms outstretched, ready to grab her and subject her to the same fate as Sally Armstrong and Polly Dwyer.


	7. You Won't Ever Feel A Thing

**Nice quick update for you! This my dears is the end of the story. So thank you very much to Littlebit100, Em, Hollie, Aileen, Krissie, Kara and Georgie for lovely reviews. Enjoy!**

Mel screamed as loudly as she could when one of the men's hands wrapped around her upper arm. She was being dragged towards the hedges when she felt a sharp shove from one side, causing the man to drop his hands. Mel scrambled to her feet, but one of the other attackers foot connected with her stomach, knocking her off balance and winding her. As she lay on the cold ground, her colleagues were making quick work of attempting to arrest the three men. She looked up and saw that it had been Nate who had shoved the man who had been trying to drag her through to the hedges. The Inspector hurried through the chaos to Mel's side.

"PC Ryder? Are you hurt?" Gina asked urgently.

Mel took a deep breath and shook her breath, "No ma'am, I'm good."

"Thank God." Gina muttered quietly. She helped Mel to her feet, leading her back to a squad car and setting her down in it. "Sit here ok?"

"Yes ma'am." Mel said with a nod.

_I've been kicked right down  
__I've been spat in the face  
__I've been pulled, weighed down  
__To the lowest place  
__I've been lied to, shamed  
__I have been disgraced  
__Been ex-communicated from every holy place  
__I've been beat up and robbed  
__I've been left for dead  
__For the way I look  
__For the things I said_

Nate had shoved Jack Mackenzie to the ground as soon as he saw that he had been attempting to drag Mel behind the hedges. He saw red as he fell on top of the man, his fist seemingly not under his control as it smashed into Mackenzie's face. Jack struggled underneath him, managing to flip over so Nate was on the ground. He tried to get to his feet and run away, but Nate was too quick for him and grabbed his ankle, pitching him forward so he landed face first into the mud. Nate pushed his knee into the small of Mackenzie's back and was about to continue hitting him when Callum pushed him away.

"Enough!" Callum shouted at Nate, dragging him away from Mackenzie when he attempted to hit him again. "Leon, Ben, cuff him and put him in the van now." Callum ordered, indicating Mackenzie.

"Sarge, you saw him, what he tried to do to Mel..." Nate hissed through his teeth.

"Shut up and go and check on Mel. Stay away from the other two men. You hear me?" Callum demanded, pushing Nate in the direction of Mel.

"Sarge." Nate grumbled, but following orders none the less. Callum jogged over to help Smithy who, along with Millie, was trying to get Liam O'Brien to his feet.

"If I have to tell you to stand up one more time I will do you for wasting police time!" Smithy threatened. Liam just looked up at the officers with a smirk on his face. Callum walked behind the man, tightening the cuffs until O'Brien's smirk was wiped off his face and replaced with a grimace of pain.

"Now, I can continue doing that for as long as I need to unless you get to your feet now." Callum threatened softly. O'Brien shot him a glare before slowly getting to his feet so Millie and Smithy could haul him off the van.

"I'm gonna do you for police brutality or assault or something!" O'Brien shouted after him. Callum ignored him, looking around carefully; there was no sign of Will or Steve Smith.

"Sierra Oscar 30 to sierra Oscar 543, come in, over?" Callum said quickly into his radio.

"Sarge, I'm in pursuit of Steve Smith on foot, across the fields to the left of the hedges. I've nearly got him..." Will cut out suddenly.

"Will? Will come in, over?" Callum said urgently. There was nothing. Callum rushed over to Smithy and the Inspector. "Will was in pursuit of Steve Smith, his radio cut out and he's not responding."

"Do you know where he is?" Gina asked quickly.

Callum pointed across to the fields beyond the hedges, "He said he was over there somewhere. We're going to need air support to try and find them, it's too dark to try and look for them ourselves." Callum said.

Gina rubbed her temples, "Can we get the cars through that gate?"

"Ma'am?" Smithy asked, confused.

"If we can get the cars through the gate onto the field we can use the lights to try and help us find Will. It would take too long to scramble the chopper and get it here." Gina explained.

"Ben, Leon, help me get this gate open." Callum shouted over to the two men. They nodded, helping their sergeant force the stiff gate open. It finally gave way, leaving a gap only just big enough to get the cars through.

"Callum, you take one car, Ben take the over. The rest of you get in the cars, we need to find Will." Gina commanded.

_When trouble thinks it's found us  
__The world falls down around us  
__I promise baby you won't ever  
__You won't ever feel a thing_

Will was right behind him now, just out of arm's reach. He turned his radio off because when Callum came through on the radio, it had tipped Smith off to his location. Smith was slowing down now, obviously thinking that he had lost Will. In the background Will could hear the engines of the cars being started up, and as he glanced round, he saw the flashing blue lights from the two squad cars sweep around the field. He ducked down when Smith turned round, and sensing an opportunity, rammed into the backs of Smith's knees, causing him to buckle onto the hard earth face first.

"What the fuck?" Smith yelled, trying to pull himself up to no avail due to Will being on top of his legs.

"Stay where you are!" Will shouted at him, using one hand to get his cuffs out of his belt, and his other hand to hold Smith's head to the side. Smith started to fight against Will's hold, forcing him off balance, making him to remove his hand from his head for a brief second to steady himself. That was all Smith needed. He was up and on his feet running across the field, away from the cars that now had him in their headlights, and away from the sprinting Will. He was so busy looking over his shoulder that he didn't see the stationary car right in front of him. He heard a click, and his head spun round just in time to see the car door opening in front of him. He slammed into it hard, ricocheting off it and landing flat on his back. Leon stepped out the car, expertly flipped Smith onto his stomach and cuffed him. Will caught up with them a few seconds later, panting and out of breath.

"It's alright Will, we caught him for you." Leon said with a grin. Will was so out of breath he couldn't even summon a witty comeback.

_Cause I will take it on the chin  
__Eh, for you  
__So lay your cuts and bruises over my skin  
__I promise you won't feel a thing  
__Cause everything the world could throw  
__I'll stand in front. I'll take the blow for you.  
__For you._

The three men had been booked into and led away to cells. The baby seat at the scene had been brought in for forensics; the team were hopeful that all three men's prints would be on it. Mel had been checked over by the FME and had been deemed to be fine apart from some bruising on her stomach. All three men were shouting about police brutality in regards to Callum, Nate and Leon, but they were taking no notice. Gina had called a final briefing.

"Right, congratulations to everyone on all the hard work put into this case. It paid off; all three bastards...I mean men, are in custody as we speak. PC Valentine and PC Green got the statement from Ruth Cortez that played an instrumental role in the finding of the three men, and thanks to Ms Cortez, no more women are going to suffer at those three men's hands. Eddie is running forensics on the baby car seat as we speak, and he's already informed me that he's got Mackenzie's fingerprints from it. Now we just need to pull everything together, making sure all our reports are immaculate and have everything in them. We need to present a water tight case to the CPS; we don't want these men getting off on a technicality. Off you go." Gina ordered. As she was about to leave, her phone began to ring. She checked caller ID, seeing it was Jess. "PC Stone?"

"Ma'am, you need to get Nate. The doctors think that Sally is starting to come round." Jess said hurriedly.

"What? Really? How is she?" Gina asked, signalling at the two sergeants.

"They don't know, they're just running some tests now. Her family are beside themselves with happiness that she's awake, but they're worried now about whether she's like she was before." Jess explained.

"Thanks Jess. I'll get Nate and we'll meet you down there. Oh, and could you tell the Armstrong's that we've caught the three men." Gina said with a smile on her face.

"Brilliant! I'll let them know. Bye." Jess said, ringing off. Gina turned to find the two sergeants looking at her expectantly.

"Sally is starting to wake up. Jess say's they're running some tests to try and find out if there's any permanent damage. Callum, I want you to go and find Nate and drive down to the hospital, pick up Jess, and go and tell the Dwyer's the good news. Smithy, could you go and inform the Superintendent that Sally's beginning to come round please." Gina ordered her sergeants. They nodded in confirmation and ran out of the briefing room to set about their tasks.

_I've been cleared on the street  
__I've been left in the cold  
__Had my dreams held up  
__Had them shot full of holes  
__I've been laughed at, burnt, beat and butt of the joke  
__I've been lit up in flames  
__I have gone down in smoke  
__I've been stabbed in the back  
__While they promised the earth  
__Tried to keep my head high  
__For all I am worth_

It was just after midnight by the time Jess and Callum arrived at the Dwyer's house. Callum rang the doorbell, holding it down so that they could hear the persistent ringing from outside.

"What the bloody hell do you want?" Mr Dwyer's said blearily.

"Mr Dwyer's? We have some news." Jess said to the point.

"It's the middle of the night for God sake!" he retorted.

"This is important. Is your wife here?" Callum asked, walking through into the house, followed by Jess.

"She was asleep, I doubt she is now. Why?" he asked sharply.

"Could you go and get her please?" Callum asked.

"No need, I'm here. What's happened?" Mrs Dwyer asked, creeping slowly down the stairs and coming to stand next to her husband.

"Maybe we should all sit down." Jess suggested.

"No, tell us the news." Mrs Dwyer's said quietly.

Callum nodded at Jess, "We found your daughter's killers. We arrested them an hour ago, they're in custody now. We're pulling the case together as we speak, ready to present to the CPS in the morning."

"You mean you've found Pol's murderers? You've really got them?" Mrs Dwyer's asked hesitantly.

"Yes, we've really got them." Jess said gently.

"Thank you, thank you so much!" she said, breaking down into tears. Mr Dwyer's was shocked, but as soon as he heard his wife's tears he pulled her tight to him. As Polly Dwyer's parents embraced in the hall, Jess and Callum made their exit from the house.

_Aside I'm double blazing  
__I know when war is raging  
__I promise baby you won't ever  
__You won't ever feel a thing_

"Gemma? Where is she? Is she alright?" Nate demanded as he skidded into the reception area of ICU.

Gemma had been crying, but as she turned to Nate, a smile was on her face, "She's awake. The doctors have done some basic tests, they say she's suffered some short term memory loss, but other than that she appears to be fine. She's weak Nate, really weak, and she's still groggy from the medication, and of course she's confused because she doesn't know why she's here, but she's awake." Gemma said in a rush, babbling like there was no tomorrow. Nate crossed the room, hugging Gemma tight.

"Can I see her?" he asked.

"Mum and dad are in there now, but yeah, I don't see why not. She asked for you when she came round." Gemma said with a smile.

"She did? Really?" Nate asked.

"Really. Go on Romeo." Gemma said with a shove. Nate grinned at her, a flash of the old Nate appearing, before he walked down the corridor to Sally's room. He stood outside for a moment, composing himself, before knocking on the door lightly. A few seconds passed, and then the door was opened by Thomas. Thomas smiled at Nate, hugging him before moving to the side to let him into the room.

"Come on Val, let's get back to the hotel and get a shower and some real food. Let Nate spend some time with Sally." Thomas said gently to his wife. Val turned and smiled at Nate before looking back at her daughter. She smoothed Sally's hair away from her face, kissing her gently on the cheek before getting to her feet.

"We'll be back soon sweetheart, ok?" Val said shakily, sounding like she was about to collapse into tears again. Sally nodded slowly, a weak smile on her face. Val touched Nate's arm softly as she passed him. The door shut behind Val and Thomas, and then it was just Nate and Sally.

_Yeah.  
__And if I fall here  
__At least you know my dear that I would die for you  
__Promise you won't ever feel a thing  
__And if I fall here  
__At least you know my dear that I would die for you  
__Promise you won't ever feel a thing_

"Hey." she said croakily, patting the bed.

"Hey yourself." he replied lightly. He walked around the bed and sat on the edge of it, holding Sally's hand in his lap. He looked at her, just drinking her in. Her bruises had gone down a bit more, and were now going yellow and green. The swelling to her face had also decreased and was nearly gone entirely. There was a healthy pink flush to Sally's skin that hadn't been there before. Nate looked carefully into Sally's eyes, and before he knew it she had pulled him to her. He wrapped his arms around her, his face nestled into her neck, her hair tickling him. Sally kissed his neck, moving up to his mouth. She tasted the tangy, salty taste of tears, and opened her eyes to see Nate crying silently.

"Don't cry, please, you'll set me off!" Sally begged weakly. "I'm ok now, I really am. I'm mending."

"I thought you weren't going to pull through!" Nate wailed. Sally held him tighter, comforting the man she loved so deeply.

"Truthfully? I didn't think so either." she admitted.

"What?" he asked in confusion.

"When I was unconscious, I could hear bits and pieces of what was going on around me. And I desperately tried to will my body to work again, to answer people, to fix itself. But it wouldn't. I could hear Jess talking to me, and my parents, and my sister, and Beth, and then you. And I couldn't do a thing to show you that I was still here. As the time passed I felt weaker and weaker, and I honest to God thought that I was dying. And then somehow, miraculously I made it through." Sally said to him. Nate pulled her against him, cradling her against his body.

"Boy am I glad you did pull through. I'm begging you, never do that again, do you hear me?" Nate demanded, planting a kiss on her lank hair.

She laughed quietly, "I'll try not to."

"That's my girl." Nate said quietly, lying down on the bed next to Sally. They wrapped their arms tightly round each other, wanting to be as close as possible, never wanting to let the other go.

_Yeah everything the world could throw  
__I'll take the sticks, I'll take the stones for you  
__For you._

**The Script: You Won't Feel A Thing**


End file.
